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Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/178110
A RESILIENT NATION continued from page 49 INDIAN COFFEE COUNTRY: (counter clockwise from top) A panoramic view of a café built on a coffee estate; a robusta coffee leaf; Adivasi women; and a setup for biodynamic fertilizer. Karnataka, the changes in culture and growing practices were immediately apparent. No longer were we visiting tiny farms; these were large, established plantations with their own processing facilities. The coffee plants here were mature, full-grown shrubs. On the first plantation we visited, the robusta plants had been planted anywhere from 60 to 90 years earlier by the current farmer's great-grandfather. That was a far cry from the five-yearold plants growing in the Araku Valley. I visited eight different farms with my new biochemist friends, but I'd like to share a story about just two of the farmers who stood out to me. To protect their identities, I'll give them different names: Aarav and Vihaan. I met Aarav first. His farm is around 100 acres, and he grows an even mix of Arabica and robusta coffees. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather worked on this plantation, and the home he lives in is 150 years old. It's the very definition of a family business, and Aarav, unsurprisingly, is raising his son to follow in his footsteps. The intention of my visit was to see the farms and interact with the farmers. Here is a snapshot of my conversation with Aarav: Me: How is the coffee selling? Aarav: Not very well. The price of Arabica has gotten almost as low as the price I get paid for robusta. Sales are much, much lower than last year. I don't know what I expected him to say. Arabica prices are down to their lowest point in several years. For farmers who have been sold on the idea that growing the labor-intensive Arabica shrubs will lead to more money at harvest, it's a hard truth to 50 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com accept. What he said next, though, surprised me. Aarav: We'll get better though. I'm working on getting [Rainforest Alliance certification] and organic certification. Those should help increase the price our buyers pay for each bag. Me: That's fantastic! Aarav: We're also growing more pepper (which most farmers I met were growing on trunks of their primary shade trees, which are silver oaks). I was encouraged to see him expressing hope for the future while stuck in a depressing cycle of low prices. Aarav saw that things weren't going as well as he had planned, and he was actively pursuing changes to his processes to increase the quality of his product and be able to qualify for certifications that would in turn almost certainly lead to him making more money per bag. At Vihaan's farm, it was a different story in almost every way. He was kind to me from the moment I arrived to the moment I left, but his response to coffee's economic woes was intense. When my host indicated that we should interact, Vihaan was ready. Vihaan: Why aren't [coffee roasters in general] buying as much coffee? Why aren't you paying as much? I'm selling much less coffee this year and for a lot less money. It's very hard. Why are prices so low? Me: Well, there are a lot of factors that play into the price of the global market. (I then explained some of the current issues plaguing green coffee pricing on the C market.) Have you pursued any certifications that might mitigate some of the price drop? Vihaan: No, I don't have time for things like that. People just